Rose Messenger Bag

I have long admired the lovely bags made by Lori of Girls in the Garden. Her bags are sewn beautifully with gorgeous fabric combinations. I wanted to try my hand at sewing a bag, but never got around to it. Being selected as tester for Lori’s Rose Messenger Bag was just the kick in the pants I needed.

The directions are fabulous. Even a beginner could end up with a very successful bag using this pattern.

Since this was a test run, I grabbed fabrics I had on hand. The blue striped fabric is actually a shirt that my husband ripped on a computer rack. Having only made two or three bags previously, I expected to struggle a bit and end up with a less than perfect product. Nope. The bag went together beautifully and easily. I want to make another one using better fabrics.

This pattern lends itself to lots of customization. You can add more pockets to the inside to suit your personal needs. That band on the front would be a great place for a bit of machine embroidery, ribbons, fabric flowers…. or a souvenir pin from an arts festival.

I finished this bag right before I went to Washington DC for the Capital Fringe Festival. I knew I would be doing lots of walking and subway riding. The cross body strap was perfect… comfortable and secure. The outside zipper pocket was a great place to keep my subway card, tickets, and phone handy, yet secure. I had random people on the subway and street comment on the my bag.

I hope Lori has more patterns in the queue. She has a great sense of design and writes great directions. The pattern is available through her Etsy shop.